Eurogroup - All posts tagged Eurogroup

The BOE is back in the spotlight — and it’s rapidly getting into position to become the first of the central-bank heavyweights to hike interest rates.

On Wednesday, we’ll get a look at the minutes from its last rate-setting meeting, on June 5. While that was a non-event, as policy makers did their usual thing of making no changes, the report may still turn out to be exciting reading.

That was the rebuke for U.S. lawmakers in a press conference after a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers on Monday. The comment, from Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, addressed the concern about international economic damage if Congress triggers a U.S. default by failing to raise the debt ceiling by Thursday.

Greece was very close to leaving the euro zone in May and June last year, former Eurogroup President and current Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean-Claude Juncker says in an interview with MNI News published on Tuesday.

Reports the tiny country would ask Friday for aid beyond the 10 billion euros ($13 billion) already pledged by its euro-zone partners and the International Monetary Fund put a dent in European markets and may have helped weigh on U.S. markets vulnerable to some profit taking in the wake of this week’s run to a string of record highs.

In a few short days, Cyprus has become the epicenter of the euro-zone financial crisis mostly thanks to a proposal to introduce a one-off tax on deposits, including small depositors. The situation roiled global markets Monday.

Reuters

So, what’s next in the Cypriot saga?

First of all, markets will need to parse comments coming out of a Eurogroup conference call held Monday evening, in which the its president, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said the currency bloc’s officials plan to “take stock of the situation.”

Dijsselbloem said in a statement released after the call that the terms of the bailout deal were made by consensus between the Cypriot government and the Eurogroup, and he insisted that the reform measures are the best guarantee for a “more prosperous future for Cyprus and its citizens.”

It’s turning out to be a good 24 hours for the conspiratorially minded, for those interested in squashing speculation, jostling for authority, but also for those who just want to have a grumble. Or visit Canada. Perhaps in that order. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, for a period there persona non grata No. 1, is probably breathing an [...]

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